A KITCHEN OF CONVENIENCE

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 171, 15 April 1932, Page 5

A KITCHEN OF CONVENIENCE

Design and Equipment on Modern Lines

CAREFUL LAY-OUT SAVES LABOUR

In the planning of a modern home, the arrangement and equipment of the kitchen play a very large part, particularly in this country, where domestic help is the privilege of the few. The housewife is entitled, and rightly so, to as much labour-saving equipment in her home as she can possibly have, and the kitchen, where she spends a considerable amount of her time, is the place where economies of time and labour can be appreciated.

i HE kitchen must be more than a mere place for preparing meals; it must be ralPra cheerful, restful and rightly sited with regard to light and ventilation, and should .0; wear an air of tidy efficiency, even of beauty. The chief problem to be considered is the correct placing of all kitchen units to give maximum efficiency and to reduce the daily travel of the housewife to a minimum. New, Efficient Cooler. Consider the type of kitchen illustrated —an example is taken from, the “Modern Home” recently described on this page. Taking the fittings in turn from the back door opening on to the porch, we find first the cooler, tlie modern equivalent of the old-fashioned meat safe. This is a zinc-lined chamber commencing at the height of the sink top

and running to the ceiling, fitted with shelves at intervals, formed of oneinch battens, one inch apart. Small vents through the outer wall" at top and bottom induce a flow of air which can pass unobstructed through the batten shelves. Underneath the cooler a delivery cupboard is accommodated, having two doors —one opening off the porch and the other from the kitchen. Useful Type of Sink. . The sink top runs from the cooler to the end wall, tiled from the top to the underside of the window-sill. The sill Itself in a concrete house could also be tiled with a rounded edge. The taps over the sink are kept sufficiently’ high to enable large jugs or saucepans to be placed underneath with ease and, fitted with anti-splash filters, would cause no inconvenience. Many sinks are, too large and too deep, with the result that too great a volume of hot water has to be drawn off for dish washing. It is quite surprising the number of women who never use the sink at all ,but rely on an enamel wash basin placed in it. Ample space is provided under the sink board for the usual pot cupboards, but here again improvements can be brought about by having the bottoms of the cupboards set up some four inches-and a space recessed underneath. Asset to Any Kitchen. An asset to any kitchen is a pastry slab, either of marble or plate glass, an awkward thing to handle if accommodated in the wrong place. It is not always suitable to have the pastry slab set into the sink top. • In this kitchen the pastry slab is accommodated in a neat slot under the sink top and over the pot cupboards. The slab can be readily slid out and placed on the sink top when required. The cooker, either gas or electric, is accommodated near the end of’the sink bench, well lighted from the left and handy to both sink bench and pantry cupboards. The pantry cupboards, supplanting the old-fashioned pantry, which at its best was not very satisfactory, are designed to accommodate all the necessary foodstuffs and supplies. From the floor level to the working top the space is filled in with bins and cupboards, small drawers being accommodated above the cupboards. At the extreme end is a broom cupboard, large enough to accommodate "a vacuum cleaner in addition to the brooms. A small compartment is provided above for floor polishes, etc. A working top runs the full length of this fitting, underneath which is a pivoted ironing board which folds in out of sight- when not in use. Patience-saving Cupboards. Some 2ft. above the working top and shallower in depth is a wide cupboard with sliding glass doors for crockery and china. The glass doors permit the crockery to be seen and easily selected, and the fact of the doors being made to slide precludes any possibility of heads being knocked on> hinged doors when open. To the left of the stove over the sink top is a cupboard divided into compartments for spices and the hundred and one small culinary adjuncts necessary for cooking. Above the crockery cupboards ’and reaching nearly to the ceiling are cupboards for the accommodation of jams and preserves. The servery as illustrated gives ac-

cess to the dining-room between the two china cupboards, with, solid doors on the kitchen side and ornamental glazed doors on the dining-room side, the whole unit forming a sideboard to the dining-room. Table and Colour Finish. A circular topped table is considered the most suitable for the kitchen. Two small chairs, lacquer sprayed to a cheerful shade, complete the equipment. Such a kitchen is not beyond a moderate purse. It is quite unnecessary to use expensive timber, and, provided the timber is dry and thoroughly seasoned, a satisfactory job can be made. A word as to the finish. By far the most satisfactory finish to all the fittings is brush enamel or lacquer spray, as it presents a good surface and is easily washed and wiped. Condensing steam from the cooking has

practically no effect on it, whereas a stained and varnished finish is seriously impaired and becomes dull and sticky. In this condition dirt is apt to settle on it, and not only is the appearance ruined .but thorough cleansing is impossible. This type of equipment, capable of being adapted to a dozen or more different lay-outs, is a step in the direction of making the kitchen a brighter, cheerier place and one in which the housewife will feel that her efforts are a pleasure and not a drudgery.— W. J. McKeon, A.N.Z.I.A.